Thomas Rowlandson (London 1756-1827)

Falk said of the present watercolour 'there scarcely exists a finer example of Rowlandson's gift for capturing the spirit and movement of a violently agitated crowd. Anxious as he is fully to display his powers as a draughtsman, he appears no less concerned to exploit his favourite mirth-making device in what is an unrivalled opportunity for expression'.

The watercolour, dated by Grego to 1791, depicts Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore, bravely steering his phaeton through a chaotic crowd fleeing from a miniature storm in Hyde Park, to ensure that the Prince Regent, visible towards the centre of the sheet wearing a blue frock coat astride his horse, being followed by his loyal servant, can make a safe journey to his home at Carlton House on Pall Mall. The scene is filled with Rowlandson's characteristic figures, fashionable and grotesque, well-turned out and in a state of disarray (for example the figure to the right whose wig has blown off in the wind), the pandemonium amplified by the barking dog.

For a watercolour by Rowlandson of figures outside a coaching inn see lot 128.